The Saints won on the opening day of the season for the first time in 10 years as they ended a run of 17 matches without a win in style with a comprehensive 4-0 victory over Wideopen FC
After a decent ending to their pre season friendlies all at the Quay were hopeful of a good campaign and they started off well and Andy Macbeth should of gave them a dream start as he went clear through but his shot beat the keeper but drifted just wide of the post.
Wideopen went agonizingly close to grabbing the opener on the half hour mark as striker Ross Dickinson beat the offside trap before lobbing Saints keeper Carl Henderson only for the crossbar to come to the rescue for the home side with the rebound well blocked by Mark Henderson
With half time approaching the Saints grabbed two goals in a minute to change the complexion of the game, first Mark Henderson headed home a Phil Doolan corner to keep up his record of scoring in all of the Saints 17 seasons so far and then just seconds later Macbeth pounced on a slip up from the Wideopen right back before running on and bending the ball past the keeper into the corner to double the lead in a magical minute for the Quay that made the half time oranges taste even sweeter.
Five minutes after the restart it was 3-0 as veteran striker Gareth Pugh ran onto a long ball before cutting back past his marker and the on rushing goalkeeper before calmly placing the ball into the empty net
Pugh was replaced by Andy Breheny on the hour and the substitute got his name on the scoresheet ten minutes later firing home a tidy volley from 12 yards after Macbeths shot was parried into the air by the Wideopen keeper to seal the points for the Quay.
Wideopen were denied a consolation goal in the closing stages as Dickinson found space in the Saints area and unleashed a powerful strike from point blank range that Henderson wonderfully kept out one handed to preserve his clean sheet
Noel Clynch nearly added the icing to the cake with a fifth goal but his flicked header from Kenny Horsman's corner came back of the bar with the keeper beaten and as the ball was cleared the final whistle blew with the Quay victorious for the first time since last November.
A big win to get the season off to a great start with each goal seeming to inject more confidence into the side, youngster Jack Wearmouth took home the man of the match award after a highly impressive performance at centre half on a day when everyone in a Saints shirt played their part in a solid team victory.
